


Paging Dr. Delishbach

by feistymuffin



Category: JackSepticEye (YouTube RPF), Markiplier (YouTube RPF), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Public Sex, Sexual Content, There's a teaspoon of angst, hospital au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 13:07:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10594647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feistymuffin/pseuds/feistymuffin
Summary: Jack does not have a schoolboy crush on his grandmother's doctor. Except he totally does.





	

**Author's Note:**

> look its a hospital au nobody asked for !!! enjoy guys

"Gran?"

The old woman in the bed looks up to the door, smiling wide when she sees her youngest grandson standing in the doorway. "Sean! Why, I thought you had classes until four?"

"My professor had an appointment." Jack makes his way into the hospital room, settling at her bedside and putting his book bag on the floor. "Which means you and I get some extra time with C.S. Lewis today."

His grandmother gives him a soft look as he leans over to kiss her wrinkled cheek. "Where had we left off? I'm sure we made it past the Magician's Nephew."

_She sounds a little better today_ , Jack notes with pleasure. Digging into his bag Jack retrieves a thick, beat-up paperback copy of the complete Chronicles of Narnia. He flips it open to his bookmark, a scrap receipt from the coffee shop in the first floor of the hospital, and remarks, "Yeah, we made it a couple chapters into The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." He wiggles a bit in his chair to get comfortable, rests the book on his lap, and reads.

His voice fills the room with rolling, flowing sound, sometimes easygoing and sometimes vivacious. Jack retells the first story of the Pevensy children, using slight voice variations and strong shows of emotion to make his grandma smile. The sun descends through the sky outside the large window opposite his Gran's bed, indicating time spent lost in the world of Narnia. 

He's gotten about halfway through the second book when there's a knock on the open door and Jack spins in his seat to see Dr. Fischbach--or as Jack refers to him in his head, Dr. Delishbach. The man in the doorway is far too handsome to be anything but a TV show doctor. His face is beautifully sculpted, his body absolutely drool-worthy, and he's so unbelievably nice that it's basically a crime that he's not married. Seriously, there's probably a by-law somewhere that prohibits really sexy doctors from being unmarried past age twenty-five. Jack would never admit it, but he's had more than one daydream in lecture about his grandmother's physician.

The young resident doctor advances into the room, giving Jack a passing smile and making Jack's heart palpitate dangerously as he stops at the foot of the elderly woman's bed. "Mrs. McLoughlin, how are we feeling?"

"Just peachy, Doctor," she says easily. Jack notices a quick expression flit across her face, but she covers it well. He narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything. "How was your weekend?"

Dr. Fischbach smiles ruefully. "Well, my dog and I had a romantic evening in." He glances down at the chart in his hands as he unhooks it from the end of her bed. He frowns slightly. "It says here you're refusing some medications again."

Jack whirls from covertly peeking at Dr. Fischbach to glare at his grandmother, accusation plain on his face. "Gran," he scolds. "We talked about this."

"Oh, Sean," she snorts, waving away his concerned fury. To Dr. Fischbach she says, "They make my head foggy. I can barely focus on anything even if it's right in front of me. I don't feel any worse without them," she adds defensively.

Jack scoffs. He folds his arms and firmly stares her down. "Liar," he grunts.

Dr. Fischbach gives them both an indulgent smile. "Your grandson makes a good point, Mrs. McLoughlin. One of those medications is a painkiller. Their absence would be very noticeable."

"I didn't get to my age by being a lily," the elderly woman mutters. "I can do without them."

"Gran, they're prescribed for a purpose," Jack tries reasoning with her. "You have to take them. You know you won't get better any faster without listening to what the doctor says."

Dr. Fischbach steps closer. "Even half the dosage would be better than nothing," he compromises hopefully. When the old woman looks at him, he smiles. 

Jack, seeing that genuine and gorgeous smile, falters slightly as he adds with a touch of humour, "Please, Gran. I know it's not really in your nature, but just this once do what you're told."

Catherine McLoughlin reclines into her pillows, finally relenting in a grouchy, reluctant tone, "Fine, alright. I suppose it won't be so bad in a lower dose." Her gaze swerves to Jack then, and it's deeply probing. She studies him closely for several seconds. Jack knows she's seeing what he tries so hard to hide--his flaming crush for the handsome doctor.

"Excellent," enthuses Dr. Fischbach. He replaces the clipboard at the foot of her bed after making a couple of scribbles on the page. "I'll have your medication switched and with luck you won't have such strong side effects. If you do, just let me know, okay?" She nods and he moves to the door, pausing just past the doorway to subtly gesture, out of Mrs. McLoughlin's view, for Jack to come speak to him.

Scrambling to his feet, Jack sets the book down on his grandmother's bed, marking his place with the old receipt. "I'll be right back, Gran, I'm just off to the bathroom quick."

"Sure, dear," she says, sounding supremely amused. Jack feels his face warm under her knowing stare and hastens out the door to where he sees Dr. Fischbach standing near the nurse's station. 

"Hey," the brunet doctor greets with a smile when Jack reaches him, and Jack stumbles slightly as he comes to a stop. "Sean, right? I think that's what your grandmother called you?"

"Oh, uh, I go by Jack, actually," Jack replies, trying not to show how much he likes the way the doctor says his name. At Dr. Fischbach's curious look, he continues, "Jack is a nickname, but my Gran never uses it. She always calls me my actual name, Sean."

"Ah, alright then. Jack," the doctor says conversationally, "have you got a few minutes for me?"

Jack swallows. He's got more than that for the sexy man in front of him, but Jack hardly thinks he'd be well-received if he voiced that. _Mind out of the gutter_ , he chastises himself. "Yeah, what--uh, what's up?"

Dr. Fischbach tucks his hands into the pockets of his white coat. "I just wanted to thank you for backing me up, against your grandmother," he says. He gives a soft sigh. "She's not quite as placid when you're not around."

"What can I say, I'm her favourite," Jack muses, making the doctor chuckle. "I'm glad to help in any way that I can to make her time here easier. She's not used to being laid up. This hip surgery has really put a cramp in her style."

"She makes it no secret that she's prepared to be... resistant," Dr. Fischbach agrees amusedly. "But your word usually seems to convince her. So, thank you for that. You're making my job much easier."

With a light shrug Jack says, "This time I think it's your doin', actually, Dr. Fischbach. The dose reduction seemed to work wonders to ease her mind about the side effects." He lets his eyes devour the striking picture that Dr. Fischbach makes, standing there casually with his dark bangs flopped over equally dark eyes and his glasses high on his nose. After a few moments Jack looks away, though, before he's caught staring. 

"You can call me Mark," the young doctor permits comfortably, accompanied by a winning smile. ""Dr. Fischbach" is so... old. I sound like I should be a grizzled, ancient man with crazy eyes that terrorizes the post-op ward."

Jack inhales. _Mark_ , he repeats in his head, smiling. The name isn't what he was expecting, but it's pretty fitting when he looks at the doctor's face again. "I don't know, give it a few years," Jack says, tongue-in-cheek. He grins when Mark laughs. "Let me know if she gives you trouble again when I'm not here, and I'll give her a talkin'-to."

"There's been more than one incident where she's been caught trying to get out of bed," Mark informs him. "And, despite being here only four days, she is determined to make my nurses want to quit." 

"That bad, huh?" Jack grimaces. "I'm sorry, she's honestly a nice woman, I promise. Havin' people cater to her while she does nothin' is just out of her experience." 

Mark chuckles and leans back against the nurse's station counter. The action draws attention to his chest, and Jack has to force himself to look up at his face. "Grandmothers are like that, though. Is your number on file for her as an emergency contact?" Jack nods, and he continues, "Good. I'll call you the next time she makes a fuss."

"I have school durin' the day, but I'll make it here as soon as I can," Jack assures him.

"Well, hopefully I never have to call you," the doctor muses. "All the same, I'm glad I can count on you."

Jack ducks his head and smiles, avoiding those liquid brown eyes that seem to look right through him. "It's nothin'," he murmurs. 

Mark opens his mouth to speak but the nurse behind the desk calls, "Dr. Fischbach, you've got a call waiting. Should I send it to your office?"

"Yes, thank you, Laura," he replies over his shoulder. He turns back to Jack. "Duty calls. I'll make sure someone brings those new meds to your grandmother."

"Thank you," Jack says quietly, with a smile. Mark smiles back and walks away down the hall, and Jack watches him go until he's out of sight. 

He makes his way back to his grandmother's room, sitting at her bedside while she peers keenly at him. The grin she gives him is cheeky. "Sean, why didn't you tell me you liked Dr. Fischbach?" she asks. "I could've been doing recon for you this whole time."

Jack chuckles even as he blushes, patting her hand where it lay on the blankets. "Not necessary, but thanks," he murmurs. "I doubt someone as good-lookin' as him is gay, anyway. The odds are against me."

"Nonsense," she huffs. "He seems to me an open-minded man, very kind as well. You should ask him out."

"Come on, Gran, Mark's a doctor," he retorts. "I'm just a student and part-time librarian. He's not interested in someone like me, even if he is gay. He'll want someone who's more established in what they're doin', where they're goin'."

His grandmother looks at him drolly. "Ah yes, clearly you've been just wasting away all this time." The expression on her aged face becomes distinctly more invasive and conniving when she adds mischievously, "So his first name is Mark, is it?"

"Stop that, you," Jack grumbles. His blush, already turning his skin a cherry red, gets visibly worse. "It won't work. Goin' for him would just be a disappointment." _And I'd be a disappointment to him if I tried_ , he adds to himself.

The thought must convey in his face, though, because at once she's prickly with temper. "And just what kind of idiot has my daughter raised that you consider yourself disappointing?" the elderly woman wonders incredulously, glaring at him. Her eyes soften though, and she smiles. "In any case, you'd best perk up, dear, because you weren't the only one stealing glances."

"What?" Jack exclaims in surprise. He hates the way his heart swells so earnestly in his chest. He argues immediately, "That's silly. How do you know he wasn't just... lookin' around? Or studyin' my unique sense of style?" He gestures to his dark skinny jeans, distressed heavily at the knees, and his blue graphic t-shirt of the game character Kirby, its large mouth gaping wide with the caption "Suck It". "Just because he may have looked at me a few times doesn't mean..."

Grey eyebrows arch in amusement when he trails off. "My boy, if he looked any harder your skin would have bruises," Catherine tells him teasingly. "That I'm sure of."

"And I'm sure you're nuts," Jack rebukes. He picks up the book off her bed and opens it pointedly to their preserved spot. "Now be quiet, you delusional old bat. It's Narnia time." 

"Carry on," she says, lips pursed as if holding back a smile. 

Some time later, a blonde nurse about his age comes into the room and informs Jack that visiting hours are over. Out of the corner of his eye Jack sees her hesitate in the doorway as he says goodbye and kisses his grandmother's forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow afternoon after class," he promises. Remembering his earlier conversation with her doctor, he adds sternly, "Listen to Dr. Fischbach. He's got a degree in medicine, for Christ's sake. He knows what he's doin'. Let him do it."

"Yes, Mother," she chides. When Jack rolls his eyes she says, "I'll try to behave. Go on, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Gran," he says with a warm smile. He leaves her room, surprised to see the cute blonde nurse still lingering outside the door. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi," she greets easily. She tucks her long hair behind her ear and smiles prettily. "I, ah, just wanted to introduce myself. I've seen you around the past few days and I thought it might be nice to get to know you. I'm Alicia."

Jack blinks. _Alright, that's pretty forward_. "Er, hey," he murmurs with a small smile. "I'm Jack."

Alicia giggles a little. When Jack's eyebrows lift, she grimaces. "Sorry, but you don't look like a Jack," she says apologetically, a hand raised to her mouth. 

He shrugs carelessly. "I know, but I tried to return it and nobody would let me," he jests. 

"That's a shame," she laughs. Jack doesn't hide his shock when she leans closer. He smells her perfume--floral, inviting. "My break is in ten minutes. Do you want to grab a coffee?"

Jack feels his cheeks warm at the blunt, unexpected offer. "Oh, I'm--no, I can't, I'm sorry, I've got a mountain of readin' to do before my mornin' lecture tomorrow," he babbles. _She's really attractive, but I'm not interested at all_ , he thinks with confusion. _What's the matter with me?_

_Well, no need to guess_ , he thinks amusedly, seeing Mark down the hall talking to another doctor. Jack is completely hooked on the charismatic doctor; he just doesn't want anybody else. Period.

Her smile falls but she recovers quickly. "Oh, alright," she says. "Maybe next time. I'll see you around, Jack." Alicia gives him a sultry once-over and a smile before turning and walking away.

"See you," he murmurs belatedly, but she's already gone. Distractedly he moves himself to the elevator, hitting the button for the ground floor once inside. By the time Jack gets home he's forgotten all about it.

 

Seventeen minutes from the end of his last class for the day, Jack's phone vibrates insistently in his pocket. He stands from his seat and slips out of the lecture room, waving away his friend Felix's worried glance. When he's out in the hall he looks at his phone. It's an unknown number, but a local area code. He answers it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Jack?" Mark's voice replies. 

His breath catches, and Jack has to actively remind himself to use his lungs. "Yeah. Dr. Fischbach? Is my grandma okay?"

"She's perfectly fine, to hear her tell it," the doctor muses. "So good, in fact, that she's harassing me again because I wouldn't let her stand up."

"God damn it," Jack groans, rubbing his face wearily. "Alright, I'll be right there. My class is almost over."

"Sorry about that," comes the reply. "I didn't want to have to call you, but she's essentially forcing my hand." He pauses, then accuses in a playful tone, "Did I hear you call me Dr. Fischbach again?"

Jack stiffens. "Uhh. No?" He clears his throat and leans back against the hallway wall. "It was an accident. I'm secretly attracted to old maniac physicians," he deadpans. "The mental image alone is paradise. Couldn't help it."

Mark lets out an uncontrolled guffaw on the other end. Jack falls in love with the sound instantly. "Be that as it may, I do prefer Mark. Don't let it happen again, or I'll have you committed. I have connections, you know."

_Is he flirting?_ Jack wonders, and bites his lip. _Should I flirt back? Or is he being goofy and joking around?_ He shakes his head, shoving the thought aside. _Play it safe, he's probably just a funny guy._ "Considerin' I just told you I'm into crazy old guys, that's probably not a very good threat," Jack chuckles.

"Damn, you're right," Mark says, sounding put out. "Well, I'm out of ideas then. Please come and save my staff from your grandmother, though," he adds a little desperately. "She's not having any of it, even from me. I've been told I can be very persuasive but she's immune to my charms."

Jack laughs and thinks dryly, _Too bad I'm not_. "I'll be there right away. See you soon."

There's a grateful sigh in his ear, then, "Thanks. I'll see you in a bit." The line goes dead.

He debates it for a long, torturous moment, but after some self-flagellation Jack saves the number into his phone under the name Dr. Delishbach. _It's not like anyone's going to see it anyway_ , he tells himself reasonably. He still blushes as he pockets his phone. 

Making his way back inside the classroom, Jack slinks to his seat and gathers his things quietly. He whispers to a curious Felix, "Gran's havin' a meltdown at the hospital. Her doctor just called me. Talk later?"

"Yeah, sure," Felix agrees readily. "Maybe I'll swing by the hospital and come visit her."

"She'd love that," Jack says. "Gotta go. I'll text you." He slips his bag on his shoulder and leaves the room, breaking into a run once he's in the hall. He bikes to the hospital, thankfully only a handful of blocks away, and locks his bike up on a tree at the edge of the parking lot.

Jack hears the noise before his Gran's room is within sight. Alarmed, he jogs the rest of the way to her room then halts dead in his tracks. There are three nurses outside the room, including the blonde who flirted with him yesterday, all looking varying degrees of stressed out. From behind the closed door comes a loud, audibly terse conversation, mostly muffled by the door but still very noticeable. Alicia sees him first and rushes to him, taking his arm and tugging him to the door. 

"Thank God," she says with a sigh of exhaustion. "We thought you'd never get here."

"She's hell spawn today," says one of the other nurses, a short-haired brunette with a button nose and small chin. "Actual hell spawn. I thought she growled at one point."

Amused, Jack adjusts his bag on his shoulder and nudges his way through the nurses to the door. He opens it and steps over the threshold, and instantly the conversation inside becomes crystal clear.

"--want to take any more god forsaken pills, damn it all!" the old woman is saying hotly. She's sitting up, staring meanly at the man standing at the foot of her bed--Mark. She doesn't seem to have noticed Jack's entry, and neither has he. "I don't care how necessary you think they are! The last ones made me foggy, and now these ones make my whole head spin! What is it with you and your pill-pushing?"

Before Mark can reply, Jack sharply shuts the door behind him. At the sound his grandmother's head whips around to look at him, as does Mark's, and her expression is priceless. Mark looks so relieved that Jack can't stop his smile. "Gran," he begins mildly, "you wouldn't be shoutin' at this nice doctor, would you?"

With an indignant huff Catherine slumps back into the pillows, her face turned towards the window. "'Nice' isn't the word I'd use," she grumbles. 

Jack walks to her bedside, setting his bag down at his feet to sit on the edge of the bed. He waits until she glances back at him. "If I was in this bed, five days post-op for a _hip replacement_ ," he emphasizes, "there's not a chance on Earth that you'd let me behave the way you're behavin'. Especially," he continues when she opens her mouth to argue, "if I was refusin' medications and tryin' to stand after bein' told explicitly how very bedridden I would have to be."

"I am not taking those foul things," she rages. Colour rises in her face as she jabs an angry finger at Mark. "He said he'd fix it, but he just prescribed something even more irritating! And I can walk just fine!"

"Can you now?" Jack says inquisitively, eyebrows high. "Well, by all means, then. Let's get you home if you're so capable." His eyes dare her to try and stand and again she looks away, out the window, without responding. "Hmm. What a surprise." He sighs, poking her blanket-covered foot so she'll look at him. "You're not a stupid woman, Gran. You know Mark isn't doin' any of this on purpose. What point is there in yellin' at him? He's just tryin' to help you."

"Quite poorly, I'll admit," Mark adds, and Jack turns to him with a frown. The young doctor tucks his hands into the pockets of his white coat and shrugs. "No, your grandmother's right. All the medications I've given her so far have had bad side effects."

"That's hardly your fault, and each time she's complained, you've changed the dosage or the medication itself," Jack points out. "You're tryin', at least." He turns to glare lightly at his grandma. "And what part of "hip replacement" makes you think that gettin' out of bed is at all a possibility?"

"Alright, alright," she grouses. She looks guilty, if petulant. "I get it, I'm unreasonable. But damn this bed and damn those pills," she says acidly.

Jack stands, sighing. He looks at Mark who meets his eyes unerringly. Jack is the first to look away, his face pink. "That's likely the best we'll get today. I'll be back, Gran." Quickly Jack escapes into the hall, but it's not exactly a reprieve. The nurses are still there.

They're on him almost instantly. "You defused that geriatric nuke?" Alicia exclaims after Mark shuts the door behind them. "Good grief, I thought she'd take chunks out of both of you."

"That would be Jack's doing, not mine," Mark says at once. 

Jack's legs impersonate a limp noodle when that handsome face smiles at him. He has to wrench his eyes away from the beautiful sight. "Well, I'm cut from the same cloth," Jack explains with some amusement at the women's gobsmacked expressions. "I know why she's so crotchety. She's just a busy lady with a lot of spare time all of a sudden, and nowhere to go. She's makin' herself crazy... Crazier than normal, anyway."

Mark drops a hand on his shoulder, making Jack jump and look at him. The contact, even through his clothes, is electrifying. "Thank you again, Jack, for helping me out. You can work miracles." Mark's grip tightens slightly before he lets go. Jack hides his reaction to his touch, but not well enough, because Mark scrutinizes him carefully, curiously. 

"No problem," Jack gets out in what he hopes is a normal tone.

"Our hero," one of the nurses, a tall redhead, says mirthfully. "We ought to keep you in the ward at all times, just in case of emergency."

Jack chuckles. "Maybe once midterms are over. Until then, you're out of luck."

"Spoilsport," laughs Alicia. She's close to him, very close. Her hand rests on his arm lightly, but with clear intentions. "Couldn't we convince you?" she purrs. The other two nurses share an amused look and depart down the hall, leaving Alicia with him.

"Uh," Jack stammers, and stares at her. He takes a deliberate step back and her hand drops from his arm. "Not... not really. School's a big deal to me."

She pouts. "That's too bad," she murmurs. "I'm done at seven. Want to go out for dinner after my shift?"

"I'm... havin' dinner here with my Gran," Jack blurts, fishing the excuse out of thin air. _Good Lord, she's persistent._ "Um. Sorry."

Alicia smiles, though, and says, "Okay. Another time." Before he can dispute the existence of another time, she walks away. He stares after her, uncomprehending. Doesn't she see that he's not interested?

"Aren't we popular," a brooding voice says behind him. Jack whirls around and sees Mark right there, his expression stormy. He'd completely forgotten Mark was still here while trying to rid himself of Alicia. "Do the nurses hit on you a lot?"

"Uh, not really?" Jack says nervously. "Just... just her. Alicia. She's, um, very direct. And very tenacious." He forces his hands to stay still when the urge to fidget hits him. "Sorry. If that's like, a problem. I mean, I'm not interested in her, so I can tell her to back off. I don't mind. I just hate rejectin' people." He winces. "Not that it happens often, I didn't mean to sound bigheaded. But I don't like doin' it even when it's necessary, you know?" He clamps his mouth shut, acutely aware that he's devolved into rambling.

"So you don't like her?" Mark asks insistently. It seems important to him, whether Jack cares about the nurse or not.

"No," he says truthfully. "She's nice and all, but I actually--" He stops quickly, biting his tongue. _Christ, don't go blabbing to the object of your affection that you can't see other people because of him_ , Jack scolds himself. He continues hesitantly, "I'm, um, just not that into her."

Mark's eyes soften, and he doesn't look away when Jack meets his gaze. "Alright," Mark finally says, with a charming smile. Jack, totally captivated, just stares at him. _Why is he so sunny now? Could it possibly matter to him who I like?_ Mark murmurs, "I'll be here until ten, if you need anything. I'll come check on your grandmother in about an hour."

"Okay," Jack says, subdued. He forces himself to take a backward step, back towards his Gran's room. "Thank you, Dr. Fischbach. Mark," he corrects hastily when the doctor quirks an eyebrow and faux scowls.

"That's better," Mark says. Jack just nods, biting his lip to hold in the stupid things that want to fall out, like 'I fucking love you' and 'marry me'. Mark walks away, glancing back over his shoulder at Jack twice.

Once he's turned a corner and disappeared, Jack leans back against the wall behind him and lets out a gusty breath. He takes a minute to compose himself before he goes back into his grandma's room.

Catherine's piercing eyes see right through him as he sits at her bedside. "You've got it bad for that man," she deduces. "Every time you speak with him you get wound up, and all kinds of frazzled. And yet you insist on not doing anything about it."

"He's drastically above my social and economical bracket, Gran," he sighs. "He probably doesn't even see me."

"Yes, a man often gives someone his first name unnecessarily when he doesn't care one bit," she muses sarcastically, giving him a look. "Sean, I wish you could see how special you are to others. You're far more than just your accomplishments."

"I'm special to you," Jack mumbles. He rubs a hand at his neck. "Not anyone else."

His grandmother sits up straighter and she fixes him with hard eyes. "If I can't be bitter about my circumstances when I'm holed up like a blind, lame dog, then you certainly aren't allowed to be despondent about yours," she tells him, fire in her tone. "You're an endearing young man, and you have more charm than you know what to do with. You could sweep him off his feet if you tried." Jack doesn't answer, looking solidly down at his feet. After a moment her face lights up, quickly becoming devious. "What if I made you a deal?"

Immediately he's wary. He looks up at her. "What kind of deal?" Jack asks suspiciously.

"I will be the soul of kindness and complacency while I'm here," she proposes, a wicked grin curving her mouth, "if you pursue that gorgeous man." 

"Oh, that is not fair," he growls, folding his arms and glaring at her. "You ought to be old enough to not require a bargain to behave yourself in a hospital."

"That's not an answer," she replies sweetly. "If this is the only way I can get your boots out of the mud, then so be it."

Jack points a finger at her warningly. "There's a circle of Hell specifically for evil mastermind grandparents, I hope you know. Fine, yes, I'll do it," he caves, and sighs when she beams at him. "I'm tellin' Ma and Pa about this."

"Surely you're joking," the elderly woman chuckles. "Your parents want you married almost as badly as I do."

"If Megan were here maybe I'd get off the hook," he grumbles, mentioning his older sister. "You'd try settin' her up instead of me."

She sighs. "Do you honestly think I could do that when I know you adore that man?" she asks. "You know me better. And you know I'm doing this because you're not confident enough to do it on your own."

Hesitating lengthily, he searches for the words. "Gran, he's..." Jack falters, gnawing on his lip. "I'm in too deep already," he whispers. "I haven't even known him a week. I can't look at other people now without comparin' them to him, and every time they fall short. He's becomin' way too important to me, and I hardly know him as a person." He lifts his terrified gaze to her face. "I'm scarin' myself. I don't _do_ this, Gran. I don't go head over heels like Hannah does every time she dates. This isn't me."

His grandmother grabs his hand and fiercely squeezes his fingers. "Don't you dare run from this," she urges, looking right into his eyes and holding him fast. "You may never feel this way again, and you'll regret it every day if you don't try to grab it. Forget about not deserving him, or not being as successful as him. If he's worth anything he'll see you as a person, and it won't matter that you're still working out your life. He should want to help you achieve your goals, not judge you on what's been done so far." She looks at him imploringly. "You can do this, Sean. I have no doubt. You know what you want with ironclad certainty, _so take it_. Don't think about not being good enough, because you're the only one in your way."

Jack exhales unsteadily and stares down at his lap. The idea alone is terrifying--pursuing someone who's, in his opinion, way above him. Rejection and humiliation top his list of fears, but beyond that is just the simple fact that Jack, while affable and witty, isn't outspoken enough to chase after what he wants. Especially when what he wants is a man as incredible as Mark. "Okay. Okay, I'll... I'll try."

"I promise you, he's interested," she assures him. "He looks at you exactly the way that you look at him."

"Then why haven't I seen it?" Jack protests. 

She grins. "He's substantially better at hiding it from you."

"Alright, I'll pretend I believe you," he muses, extracting the book from his backpack on the floor. "How about a chapter or two before Mark comes back?"

"I'd love nothing more," his grandma says, and settles back into her pillows.

Jack reads to her until his stomach reminds him of an impending meal time, and like clockwork a nurse--Alicia, he sees with slight distress--brings his grandmother's evening meal on a bed tray. He gets to his feet and steps out of Alicia's way. "I'll be back," he says to his Gran. "I'm goin' to grab myself somethin' downstairs. I'll just be a few, alright?"

She glances up at him and nods as Alicia sets the tray over her lap. "Don't feel rushed, dear. I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself, at least," she chuckles with a touch of bitterness.

He gives her a look before he ducks out of the room. Leaving Alicia in his dust to prevent her from asking him out again, he hurries to the elevator and pushes the call button. Thankfully he doesn't wait long and he makes it downstairs without incident. Jack buys a ham sandwich and a bottle of water at the coffee shop in the hospital and takes the stairs back up to the third floor. He slinks around the last corner to his grandma's room, eyes peeled for Alicia, but she's nowhere to be found. She's not in Gran's room either. With a little sigh of relief he sits in the chair at his grandmother's bedside and starts unwrapping his sandwich. 

Catherine eyes him mirthfully. "Skirting that nurse, hmm? She's a determined one, isn't she?"

"Too determined," Jack agrees. He takes a bite and mostly chews his mouthful, saying, "I'm tryin' to be as clear as possible without sayin' the words, but she's not takin' a single hint."

"You might take a page from her book, though," she suggests slyly. When Jack's brow lowers she tuts at him. "Now don't be like that. It wouldn't be so bad for you to assert yourself."

"Easier said than done, Gran," he mutters. He glances down at his watch, noting with a pathetic, sad little twinge in his chest that Mark is late for his check in with his grandmother. Over an hour has passed since he last spoke with him. _He's busy, it's not like he forgot_ , Jack tells himself. _He's a doctor, after all_.

"Positivity goes a long way," she chides him, spooning up some soup. She blows on it and adds pensively, "You might try entertaining the idea that Mark is enamoured with you, too. Considering that he is, you wouldn't go astray if you did."

Jack grunts, unconvinced. He finishes his sandwich, then begins reading again where he left off while his grandmother sips at her soup. When she's done he moves her tray for her so she can sit comfortably, also rearranging her pillows and adjusting the incline of the automatic bed. 

"Thank you, darling," she murmurs as he sits again. "You're sacrificing so much of your time to be here. Don't your friends miss you?"

"Felix and Marzia are pretty understandin'," he tells her. "And Robin is ass deep in schoolwork, so he doesn't mind my absence as much, either. It's okay, Gran, honest. I like bein' here."

"Not just for me, I think," she says knowingly, smiling. "The eye candy here is outstanding."

"Gran," he groans. "Stop it, c'mon. Am I readin' this or are you goin' to tease me all night?"

Her smile widens. "Must I choose?" she chuckles. At Jack's dry look she waves a hand, gesturing for him to continue. 

He's been reading for at least twenty minutes when there's a knock on the partially open door. He turns in his seat and Jack watches the door swing open to reveal Mark, looking harried and half out of humour. 

Mark advances into the room, running a hand through his already mussed hair. "Well, I'm far later than I expected to be when I said I'd come by. Sorry," he sighs, offering a tired smile. 

"What happened?" Jack wonders, because it's obvious something significant delayed him.

"One of my colleagues is a single dad and has a sick baby, and couldn't make it here," Mark explains. "Not such a big deal normally, but he's the only other doctor for another ward tonight. I'm in high demand, and I've already had to deal with some hypochondriac parents who seem to disregard my assessments and insist that their child, who has nothing more than the average cold, is dying of some venerable disease or early stage cancer." He massages his forehead. "Never mind the minor herd of waiting family members for a patient who just got out of a rather routine surgery. They didn't appreciate my telling them that the person is conked out on drugs and won't be awake until tomorrow." He gives Jack a lopsided grin. "Did I mention the hypochondriacs want CAT scans and MRIs for their son, and that when I told them they had to wait until Thursday--since the patient is in no way severely ill or even warranted to receive an MRI and a CAT scan--they called me a..." He smirks ruefully. "Well, it wasn't a nice thing to be called."

"The nerve," Jack chuckles. "I guess you'll be happy to know then that Gran is prepared to be compliant now."

Mark's eyebrows lift. He looks down at Jack curiously, his hand casually resting on the back of his chair. "How did you manage that?"

Jack stares up at him. He's so close that Jack can smell his cologne. _Oh god, he's fucking mouthwatering_ , Jack laments, unconsciously inhaling. Vaguely his mind repeats the question he was asked, and his face flames. He can't exactly explain to Mark the specifics of their bargain, what with him being a key part of the agreement. "Oh," he blurts, "um, I... persuaded her."

"Which is code for 'I did something demeaning to make her listen', isn't it?" Mark says with mirth. He peers at Mrs. McLoughlin shrewdly. "You're going to be nice now, are you?"

"Tame as a lamb," she tells him solemnly. But then she grins.

"I've seen lambs kick," he responds in a grumble, cracking a small smile at her chortle and moving to pick up her clipboard. He scans it briefly, jots down a few things and replaces it on the end of the bed. "You took those new medications with supper, yes?" When she nods, he says, "Good, good. Make sure you let me know if you have any issues with them, and we'll deal with that as needed." He glances at Jack briefly, then back to his grandmother. "I hate to doctor and run, but I'm spread thinly tonight. I'll try getting back here in the next few hours to see how you're doing. You keep her in line," Mark instructs him. "She's made a promise--hold her to it." 

Jack holds a hand over his heart. "'Til my last breath," he pledges, his lips quirked. With a helpless smile on his face, Mark turns and leaves the room.

His Gran yawning draws Jack's eyes back to her from the open door. "Well, dear, I think I'm due some sleep. You go on home and get some schoolwork done. I'll be just fine."

"Nah, I brought some things here with me from school," Jack replies easily. "I'll get my study on while you have a nap." He sees her surprised expression and he smiles. "If I'm home I'll just worry. When I'm here at least I can get somethin' done, knowin' you're okay."

Catherine smiles tenderly at him, reaching out to rest a hand on his knee. "My boy," she says, gentle and adoring. She pats his knee, then leans back into her pillows and gets comfortable. With another small yawn she closes her eyes. "Don't mind me if I start snoring, just plug my mouth with some tissues."

Chuckling, he takes her hand and squeezes it before he places it back on the blanket. Jack watches her fondly for a few moments as she dozes off, then rummages in his bag for his textbook and lecture notes. He makes a pseudo-table out of a second chair, propping his textbook against the back of it and his notes in front. It's not exactly ideal, but it works.

Dusk has crept into the room through the window when Jack lifts his head again. The overhead fluorescents seem too bright, harsh against the gloom of outside. He glances at his grandmother, content when he sees that she's sleeping peacefully. As he chews on the capped highlighter in his mouth Jack stands and walks around the room to stretch his stiff, achy legs. His phone buzzes in his bag, and he retrieves it.

A new text message notification is on the main screen. It's from Felix. _Hey, what room is your grandma in? I'm done my crap, for the moment. Comin for a visit._

_318_ , Jack replies. _I'm here, too. Gran's sleeping, though, so be quiet when you come in._ He gets a _Gotcha_ back from Felix and pockets his phone again. His gaze lands on his grandmother as he turns towards the bed. He notes the dark circles under her eyes and frowns. _Has she been getting enough sleep?_

Jack's bent down and packing his books back into his bag when the door swings open and Alicia comes in. He straightens, stiffening when her eyes roam over his body with appreciation.

Her smile reminds him of a shark. "Hi, you. Dr. Fischbach sent me to come check on her," Alicia says with a gesture to his grandmother. "He said he got held up again, but he'd try to make it by tonight." She shrugs, like it doesn't matter. "Don't know why he's so insistent on coming to see her. Your grandmother's not high-risk or anything."

_Why, indeed?_ Jack thinks, intrigued. A small, foreign and distinctly Gran-like voice in his head suggests that Jack himself is the reason that Mark wants so badly to come back. Jack dispels it at once, though. Even if he is interested, Mark wouldn't go that far out of his way just to come see him. Despite that and all of his doubt, Jack feels a longing inside him for the brunet to show some kind of sign that he's at least into guys. Something to make Jack feel like he's not shooting in the dark.

"Anyway," Alicia continues, sidling up close to him. "I've got a day off coming up. Saturday. D'you want to do lunch? Maybe go see a movie?" Her hand traces lightly up his arm, stopping at his bicep and squeezing.

"Uh, listen," Jack starts, putting a hand on hers to pull it off him. "I'm honestly very flattered, but I'm--"

"You're not gay," she interjects. She sounds sure.

Jack takes a step back, one that she matches with a forward step. "I'm mostly gay," he corrects. "Bisexual, but--"

She huffs irritably. "Then what's the problem? Am I not pretty or something?"

"You're very attractive," Jack tells her. Hearing that, she advances on him again and quickly he scurries back and adds, "But I mean that in a 'what a gorgeous rose' kind of way. Not 'I want to hit that like a freight train'."

"That doesn't make any sense," she snaps. "I'm attractive... but you're not attracted to me?"

"Uh, yes." He watches her face warily for any impending signals of an outburst, but she just sighs, eyeing him a little sadly. "I'm sorry. I don't want to upset you."

She shrugs a shoulder, passing him with another sigh to stand at his Gran's bedside. "It's not like you were rude about it or anything," she murmurs. "Super disappointing, though."

Jack doesn't reply. Alicia wakes up Catherine to take her blood pressure and monitor her heart rate. Once she's done she writes on the clipboard and gives Jack a short look. "She's all fine," she tells him. She offers a tiny smile and leaves before he can say anything else.

"My, she looked dreary," his Gran comments.

He sits in his chair at her bed and chuckles lightly. "I told her how far she'd get with me. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she wasn't irrational when I told her, at least."

"That's good," she replies. "Less headache for you, especially since you're after her boss."

Jack grimaces. "About that..."

"We have a deal," Catherine says at once, glaring. "And neither of us are allowed to back out."

"I barely know how to flirt, Gran," he argues hotly, crossing his arms. "And with someone on that level of beauty? Are you kiddin'?"

"Just be yourself," his grandmother soothes. She pats his leg. "That's what he's crazy about. Just you, my boy. He doesn't need any convincing, he's already sold."

The door creaks open again before Jack can answer, and Felix pokes his blond head into the room. "Hey, got room for one more?"

Jack's grandmother lights up. "Oh, Felix!" she says delightedly. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Surprise," he grins, moving into the room after mostly closing the door. He pulls up the second chair and plops himself into it. "How you feeling, doll?"

"A bit like a dog with a cone on its head," she muses, and both men laugh. "I'm alright, though. A little tired, but all I seem able to do is sleep and be irritating, so that's no problem." She turns on Jack, her eyes heavy with accusation. "You need to be brought up to speed, though, Felix, my dear. This one won't listen to me. He thinks I'm wrong."

"Wrong about what?" Felix asks, looking at Jack.

"Gran is matchmakin' again," he informs his best friend. "It's her doctor this time. Admittedly," Jack grumbles, "I'm completely smitten with the man, so really I have no one but myself to blame."

"And Sean refuses to believe that Dr. Fischbach likes him, too," she includes pointedly. Her dainty hand points a stern finger at her grandson. "I see that man ten times a day when I hardly need to see him twice, all because every time he comes in here he hopes you are sitting with me."

"Oh, come off it, Gran, he's just... He's just really concerned because you fight with him about everythin'." Jack sighs. "I want it to be true, I do. But it isn't."

Felix leans sideways until he can rest his arm across the back of Jack's chair. "Where is all this uncertainty coming from?" he wonders. "You're not without your charms, and you're one handsome devil. What's to say the doctor doesn't like you as much as you like him?"

Jack chews his lip worriedly. "I can't believe that he'd pick me when there're so many people for him to go after. He could have anyone. God, Fe, he is just... Christ, he's fuckin' amazin'. His eyes, his voice, that body. Oh my God, that _smile_ \--" He stops himself before he gets carried away. "The point is, he's on another level of perfection. He's not goin' to stoop down and pick up rubble when he could have diamonds."

"Okay, alright," Felix says, and he's angry. His temper is punctuated by a firm, almost painful grip on Jack's shoulder. "Cut that shit out before I put you in your own hospital bed. Just what do you think I keep you around for? What is it you think you're lacking that these diamond-like people must have in order to attract his attention? Hmm?"

He tenses under Felix's hand. "I know I'm not a bad person," he falters. "But he's intimidatin'. He's so powerful, as an individual. He's got personality for days, and my God, he's charmin'. I can't compete with that kind of charisma."

"You promised me you'd try," his grandmother says, snarky. "And I don't think you want to see what kind of hell I'll raise if you don't uphold your end of the bargain." Jack sticks his tongue out at her and she shakes a warning finger at him, but she still smiles.

"Don't look at him as an adversary," Felix suggests. "He's not a conquest or an enemy you have to size up. He's just a guy. He's probably got insecurities too, so don't twist yourself into knots thinking that you won't be good enough for him. You're good enough for anybody."

Jack sighs through his nose, looking sideways at Felix. "You know, I'm never not goin' to hate it when you're right," he mutters. He smiles a little when Felix smirks. "I'm not even sure how to... to express my interest, I guess. I thought, or at least Gran made it seem like I was super obvious. If he's got an idea about my feelin's, and he's supposedly interested too, then why hasn't he done anythin'?"

"Is he shy at all?" Felix asks.

Shaking his head, Jack says, "I don't think he's the type to get shy. He's got a pretty strong personality." He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and Felix takes his arm back. "How am I goin' to do this?"

"There's something to be said for strutting your stuff," his grandmother says encouragingly. "Put on one of those nice shirts you have, the one that shows off your neck, and some tight jeans. Put effort into bending over as much as possible." Her mouth curves into a grin. "Make him sweat."

"Jesus Christ, Gran," Jack squeaks, and flushes to the roots of his hair. "Could you not? Oh my God." He smothers his face in his hands as Felix laughs hard. "Why did I even bother askin' you two for help?"

"Oh, come now," Catherine chuckles. "I'm being serious, Sean. Men respond to... well, they respond to a lot of things, but if he's attracted to you and you start showing off, he's going to notice."

"She makes a very good point," Felix inputs. "Think animal kingdom, right? All the males work hard to look good so they can get some."

_Great, I'm being compared to a preening animal_ , Jack thinks dryly. "I can't believe I'm puttin' faith in this, but fine. I will try to... "make him sweat". _Christ_." He rubs his face before looking up at his best friend and grandmother. Both have big smiles on their faces, and Jack can't help but smile, too. 

"My boy, you have nothing but success coming to you," Gran says assuredly. "'Success' being a knockout with a PhD."

Jack really hopes she's right.

 

Once his last class lets out the next day, Jack makes a detour to his apartment that he shares with Marzia and Felix to change. He races inside, dropping his bag in the hall and pulling off his shirt as he goes into his room.

"Jack, that you?" Marzia calls from what he thinks is the kitchen.

"Yeah," he calls back, "just changin' before I go see Gran." He kicks off his pants and digs in a drawer for a v-neck shirt, pulling it on when he finds one. He sprays himself with a bit of cologne then hunts in his dresser again.

"Fe told me about the sexy doctor that you're after," she says, loud enough to carry to him. "Good for you, babe."

He finds and tugs on a tight pair of skinny jeans, having to work the denim up his legs in increments. "Ah, yeah, well... I'm workin' on it." He finally fastens the button and pulls up the zipper, then goes to the mirror over his dresser and studies himself. Gran was right--the shirt does wonders for his slim body. The v-neck accentuates his neck and throat, draws attention to his collarbones. He turns and examines his butt in the tight pants. _I look good_ , he muses. _They were right_. 

As an afterthought Jack puts some gauges in his ears, simple green plugs, and woven bracelets on each wrist. As he catches his reflection he decides he definitely likes the additions, and makes his way back out to the front door after he fusses with his hair for a bit. He grabs his bag on his way down the hall, throwing on his jacket again and calling out, "Bye, Marzia, see you tonight!"

At the hospital he locks up his bike and makes his way inside. Clenching his sweaty hands, Jack waits for the elevator and tries to keep his nerves down. _You can totally do this_ , he tell himself firmly. _Gran knows what she's talking about. She wouldn't lead you blindly. You got this. You can absolutely flirt with an insanely attractive doctor. You got this_.

Despite his pep talk, Jack still has to wipe his hands on his jeans in an attempt to dry them.

When he enters his grandma's room, she whistles loudly. "Well, well! Look who cleans up splendidly!"

He grins and strikes a pose. "What do you think, good enough to entice him?"

"You're always good enough, my boy," she tells him fondly. "But you look very nice. He'll be speechless, just you wait."

"Ah, I don't know about that," he chuckles, taking off his jacket and setting his bag down. "Thanks anyway, though." He bends at the waist and rummages in his bag for The Chronicles of Narnia and straightens as he flips to their place, well into The Horse and His Boy. "I think we just got to the part--" He stops, looking at his Gran's face. She looks very amused, even smug, but she's not even looking at him. Rather, she's gazing at something over his shoulder. Curiously Jack turns, then freezes.

Mark is in the doorway, stock-still and his mouth half-open as he stares at Jack. Immediately Jack feels his face heat at the scrutiny, and he ducks his head. Jerkily, lacking any kind of grace, Jack seats himself in the chair by his Gran's bedside. "Um. Hi, Mark."

"Hi," the brunet replies, but he sounds odd. Slowly he steps into the room, stopping next to Jack's chair. "How was your day?"

It takes Jack several seconds to realize Mark is talking to him. He looks up with surprise, meeting Mark's eyes that don't leave his even briefly. "O-oh," he stutters. "Uh, it was good. My, um, my professor assigned some bullshit extra work, but such is university."

Mark nods, and his gaze wanders down Jack's body like seeking hands. Completely different than his reaction when Alicia did the very same thing, Jack feels his blood boil under those eyes. Okay, he's officially convinced that Mark is on board. Deliberately Jack leans back in his chair, draping an arm along the back of it, which pulls the material of his shirt more snugly across his chest. He watches Mark follow the action with his eyes and bites his lip to keep his mouth shut. Mark sees that, too, and his breath gusts out as he sighs roughly.

"I..." Mark begins, but he glances up and sees Jack's grandmother and stops abruptly. "Er," he coughs, clearing his throat, and turns sharply away from Jack to face her. "Mrs. McLoughlin. How are you feeling? Any side effects from the new medications at all?"

She looks extremely amused when she replies, "Not at all, Doctor. I'm right as rain."

"Good, that's good," he says. He walks to the foot of the bed to scribble on the clipboard. Jack stares at him blatantly, hoping he'll look up, but he doesn't. Mark replaces the clipboard and gives his grandmother a perfunctory smile before turning and leaving. He doesn't look at Jack again.

Like a balloon losing all its air, Jack deflates as he looks after him. _Did I do something wrong? Was I too forward? He seemed interested, but..._

"What on Earth are you just sitting there for?" Catherine exclaims. "Go find him and flirt yourself to death! He was in disarray just from seeing you!"

"But he just left," Jack worries. "He didn't even... He just left."

"That boy nearly bit his tongue off when he saw you," his grandmother says instantly. "And if I know anything about men, then I know he left because he's not used to feeling something that he just felt. Sean, _go get him_."

Jack gnaws on his lower lip, glancing again to the door. "Are you sure?"

"More than anything, my boy," she insists, smiling. "Go."

Wearily he stands, bookmarking his spot in the novel again before setting it down. With a nervous look at his Gran, he leaves her room. The hallway is nearly empty, save for a few nurses and one janitor. No doctors. _I'm surprised Mark didn't leave a smoke trail escaping_ , Jack thinks with a shred of black humour. He approaches the nurse's station and gets the receptionist's attention. "Excuse me, have you seen Dr. Fischbach come by here?"

She looks up from her computer. "No, I haven't," she says politely. "Is it urgent? I can page him."

"Oh, no, I just--wanted to talk to him, that's all," Jack says, rushed and anxious. "Sorry, don't--don't page him, it's fine." He backs away and hurries back to his grandmother's room.

She looks at him when he enters, concerned, from her bed. "That was quick." She notes his expression and frowns. "What happened?"

Sitting again, Jack murmurs, "I couldn't find him, the hall was empty. Wherever he went, he went there fast. He knew, or assumed, that I'd try to follow him, I guess." He looks up at his grandmother bleakly. "This was a stupid idea, Gran. I can't do this, and it's obvious that Mar--" Jack swallows the word when it gets caught in his throat, then tries again. "It's obvious that Dr. Fischbach isn't as into me as we thought."

"Don't give up yet," she urges him. "Don't. He might just have cold feet. Keep picking at him, ease your way into his life."

Jack grimaces. "I don't... I'm not okay with that. I won't force myself on him if he's not willin' to be around me." He rubs his beard wearily, slumping back in his chair. "I knew this was a bad idea." Gran starts to speak but Jack says quickly, "Can I just read? I don't want to talk about this."

Her face falls subtly with sadness. "Yes, of course, dear."

It's past six before he stops out of necessity, so a nurse can bring his grandmother her supper. Jack reluctantly leaves her room to go buy his own food, making the trip downstairs to the coffee shop. The line is long, what with it being meal time with a hospital's worth of family members, visitors and staff. Jack waits in the queue and scrolls through social media to kill time.

He's a few spots away from the front when he hears a familiar, heart-wrenching voice ordering a grilled chicken panini and a large coffee with double-shot espresso. He glances up without meaning to, and Jack sees the back of Mark's head, his fluffy dark hair. He snaps his eyes back down and over-focuses on his phone to the point where he's just staring vacantly at the screen, rereading the same tweet. Mark moves to the side and the lines progresses.

When it's Jack's turn--too soon, the three people in front of him all ordered simple things and Mark is still waiting for his panini to be grilled--he keeps his eyes forward and says as quietly as possible to the cashier, "Hi, a chicken caesar wrap, please. That's everythin'."

"Certainly," the cashier replies, smiling wide as he keys in the order. "Five seventy-six."

Jack hands him six dollars and anxiously waits for his change, tapping his foot. He takes his change from the man behind the till, who gestures him to the side to wait for his food. Swallowing, Jack shuffles to the side, closer to where Mark stands. He tucks his hands under his arms and faces away from him, hoping intensely that Mark hasn't noticed him.

Hope isn't on his side. "Jack?" a voice says behind him. 

_Fuck_ , Jack curses internally, and half-turns to face the brunet. "Hi, Dr. Fischbach," he mumbles.

Mark gives him a confused look. "What are you calling me that for?"

Jack looks down, studies the laces of his shoes. "What else would I call you?" he replies evenly. 

"Oh, I don't know, maybe Mark?" the doctor says. When Jack doesn't reply, he frowns. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothin' happened," Jack says, and it's not a lie. The reason that Jack won't look at him is technically because nothing did happen, when he was under the impression that something would. "I'm perfectly fine." _Okay, that's a lie_ , Jack admits to himself.

"Now why don't I believe you?" Mark says, moving closer. "Could it be your kicked puppy expression, or maybe because you look like you want the floor to swallow you up?"

Jack gulps, but doesn't look up. Probably the hardest thing he's ever done is refuse to look at the man he loves. Because he does love Mark, he realizes with a little jolt. It's too soon, far too soon to feel like he does, but he does. The rejection earlier, even as small as it was, hit home way too hard for it to be anything else. "It's--none of your business," he retorts. It sounds weaker than he intended. 

Stepping closer again, Mark comes within personal bubble distance. "And I'm convinced that it is," he replies. Jack can feel Mark looking at him, his gaze as potent as a touch. "Is this about earlier? Did I offend you when I left without saying anything to you?"

"You don't owe me anythin'," Jack says, instead of answering. "I'm just your patient's grandson."

"That's not--" Mark stops and sighs. "Obviously I did something. Are you going to tell me what it is, or do I have to guess?"

"What does it matter?" Jack mutters. He hunches his shoulders slightly and steals a sideways glance at Mark. The doctor stands there, looking equal parts irritated and dismayed, with his hands in his pockets and a stethoscope looped around his neck. He's beautiful, even when scowling.

"Am I just supposed to ignore the fact that you're clearly upset with me about something?" he says, a little incredulous. 

"You ignored me just fine earlier," Jack scoffs, before he can stop himself. "Worked like a charm. It sure cured me." He looks away when he sees the shock on Mark's face.

"Cured you?" Mark repeats, and Jack winces. 

He bites his lip. "Don't tell me you weren't aware that I'm into you," Jack mumbles. "If it wasn't obvious before today, it is now." He gestures down to his state of dress, frankly improved from the clothes he'd been wearing prior.

"I guessed," Mark finally confirms, after a short silence. "That you were... And I haven't been very tactful dealing with it."

_Dealing with it_ , Jack thinks bitterly. That's pretty indisputable. You don't 'deal with things' when you're interested. He eases away from Mark. "Well, hey, no need. I'm not completely stupid. I can take a hint."

"But I--" Mark begins, but he's interrupted by an employee calling out, "Grilled chicken panini!" before placing the order on the outgoing counter. Right after, another employee calls, "Chicken caesar wrap!" and places that on the counter too.

Hastily Jack snatches his food, backing away and giving a jerky wave before running. He hears Mark yell his name but he doesn't slow down. He squeezes into the elevator just as the doors are closing, and rides it up to the third floor with a stop in between.

When he walks back into his grandmother's room Mark is already there talking to her. Jack balks and stops in the doorway, clutching his wrap. His Gran looks up which makes Mark look over too. His expression is strange, but Jack can see agitation and concern somewhere in it.

"How--how did you beat me here?" Jack inquires weakly.

"I took the stairs," Mark replies. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Jack hesitates visibly. "Um," he wavers. His fingers fidget with the food in his hands.

"Go on, dear, leave your food here," Gran urges. Her eyes are practically spelling out that he'd better take this opportunity to woo Mark. 

On wobbly legs Jack walks to his chair and puts his wrap down, then follows Mark as he leaves the room. Rather than stopping just outside though, Mark leads him down the hall and around a corner to a small office with _Dr. M. Fischbach_ printed on the door on a small plaque. He opens the door and gestures Jack inside. He goes, and Mark follows and closes the door.

The office isn't big--it's basically a desk, a file cabinet and a desk chair with just enough room to manoeuvre around everything. One extra chair sits in front of the desk, and the desktop is cluttered with papers, folders and a laptop. Over the file cabinet hangs a framed certificate with Mark's full name on it.

"If you'd have let me finish earlier," Mark says without preamble, before Jack can even sit down, "I'd have reworded my clumsy sentence into something less stupid." He perches on the corner of his desk, eyeing Jack. "I think you got the impression that what you feel for me isn't mutual."

Jack's mouth hangs open. _Did I hear him right?_ "But, isn't it?" he says meekly. "You... After you saw me today, you just--"

"That was a serious error on my part," Mark replies, looking guilty and tense. "I, um." He rubs at his hair, grinning to himself in embarrassment. "I had a... sudden physical discomfort, when I saw you earlier. And your grandmother made it no secret that she was very entertained by my squirming. I couldn't look at you without making it worse. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."

His face red as a cherry, Jack murmurs a tiny, "Oh." He couldn't meet Mark's eyes to save his life, so instead he stares down at his fingers and fidgets. "That's, ah..." He glances up when Mark moves, getting to his feet and slowly approaching Jack. Helplessly he backs up until the wall behind him halts his progress. 

Mark cages him in with his arms on either side of Jack's head. He smiles softly when Jack starts chewing on his lip. "You do that a lot," he murmurs, quiet. "Bite your lip." He moves his right hand and presses a gentle finger to Jack's bottom lip, pulling it from between his teeth. Jack intakes a short breath at the contact and stares at Mark with wide eyes but doesn't speak. "I'd bet my medical degree that I make you nervous. Very nervous."

Jack doesn't even know how to begin to answer that one. He turns away, his blush as prominent as ever, but Mark puts a hand at his jaw and maneuvers his face back towards him. "Mark," he whispers, and shivers when that hand slides back into his hair, cupping his ear.

"Mmmhmm?" Mark hums lowly in response. He's so close Jack can feel his breath on his face. 

"I don't think..." He trails off, acutely aware of Mark's other hand moving to rest on his waist, to pull him close. 

"No, you shouldn't think," the brunet agrees. He slowly plasters Jack to his front and holds him there firmly. "I just want you to feel." Then he leans in, bending his head down the slightest bit to meet Jack's mouth.

A small sound crawls its way out of Jack's throat the instant Mark kisses him. Contrary to what Jack was kind of expecting he isn't demanding or fierce. He moves his lips easily against Jack's, a tender touching that just goes on and on. As his body floods with an indescribably bright feeling Jack moves his hands up to slip around Mark's back and grasp his coat in trembling fingers.

Seconds pass by, and there's a change in the young doctor. The longer he has Jack in his arms, the more uncontrolled and eager he seems to get. Soon his hands are gripping at the back of Jack's thighs, allowing him to get close--so close that their hips brush purposefully, a ghostly contact that alludes to stronger, deeper things.

Jack gasps softly into his mouth, digging his nails into Mark's sides to tether himself. _I'm going to float away like a cloud_ , Jack thinks dreamily. _I'm going to float away, because I've never been so light_. Mark pushes him bodily back into the wall, and Jack lets out a groan.

"Shh," Mark chastises him, pulling back and smiling. "If we're going to make out in my office, it has to be quietly."

"S... sorry," Jack stammers. Cautiously, because even now he's afraid of rejection, Jack slides his hands up Mark's chest and under his white coat to press his palms against the t-shirt underneath. "I'm... I've been told I'm kind of loud. Sorry."

Mark's grin is somehow arrogant and affectionate. "Then I have a feeling this isn't the best of ideas."

"Please don't stop," Jack says instantly. He tugs at Mark, trying to pull him close again. 

With a sigh Mark moves away completely, letting Jack go and taking Jack's hands off of his body. "As much as I don't want to admit it, I'm working, and my absence will be noticed. I can't ravish you right now." Rather than releasing them though, he holds Jack's hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over the pale skin.

"What about later?" Jack asks breathily. His fingers clench around Mark's. "What about in like, ten minutes?"

"No, not then, either," Mark chuckles. He studies Jack for a long moment, his eyes steadily becoming more ardent, then in a grunt he says, "Oh, hell, come here." He yanks Jack into him by his hands and moulds their mouths together again.

Jack clings to his shoulders and whimpers, his fingers clawing the material beneath his hands. With a muffled groan Mark licks at his lips, pulls the lower one between his teeth and nibbles it. His hands bring Jack close again and he pushes him back into the wall, pressing him there with his body. Legs already unsteady, Jack takes his weight eagerly and coaxes his tongue into his mouth. Mark follows his lead and pushes his tongue past Jack's lips, swallowing his little moan.

Foggily Jack registers than Mark is lifting his leg to hook it around Mark's hip, and doesn't realize why until Mark presses their groins together and grinds Jack into the wall. He chokes out a moan, quickly smothered by Mark's mouth. Jack can feel it in his stomach when Mark does it again, torturously sending little sparks of pleasure through his body. He shudders, barely managing to keep up with Mark's kisses.

"If you keep it up with those noises," Mark pants, rocking his hips against Jack's, "then the whole nursing staff will be at that door within minutes. Probably Dr. Hansen too."

Jack tips his head back until it hits the wall, moaning throatily. "Let them," he gasps. "Oh, _god_ , Mark."

"Fucking hell," Mark grinds out. He lets out a lengthy sigh in an attempt to calm himself. Slowly and with apparent difficulty he backs off and sets Jack back on his feet. Once he's sure Jack is steady, he takes several steps back until he physically hits his desk. "You're... you are trouble for me, I swear."

Dazed, Jack stares at Mark across the space between them. "What?" he asks dumbly.

Mark bursts out laughing, running his hands through his hair and sending it in multiple directions. "You're the best kind of trouble," he murmurs. His eyes are endearing as he lets them run the length of Jack's body. He shakes his head a little. "But we're doing this all out of order. We should go on a date."

"Okay," Jack mumbles, and smiles.

"I'm working all week, mostly doubles," Mark sighs, giving him a dismal look. "I'll see you around here with your grandmother being here, but it looks like an actual date will have to wait for a few days."

"Okay," Jack says again, staring. He bites his lip.

Mark's hands grip the edge of his desk. "Do you even know what you're doing to me?" he whines. His eyes are fixed on Jack's mouth.

That look provokes something powerful in Jack's gut, twisting it up in knots. Experimentally, he licks his lips and makes a soft sound high in his throat. Mark's expression darkens with intensity and he unconsciously leans forward a little before catching himself.

"Stop that," Mark says, aiming to sound firm and not really succeeding. "I'm trying to be a gentleman here."

"Who told you to do that?" Jack wonders. He gathers his courage and steps away from the wall, towards Mark. Jack stops a scant few inches before him and holds his eyes, then lifts his hands purposefully. The doctor tenses when Jack first touches him, hands splayed on the planes of his chest, but then all at once Mark gives in and reaches for him.

The breath is knocked out of him when Mark brings him close, compressing his chest with the force of his embrace. But to Jack it's not close enough, and he wraps his arms around Mark's neck and clutches a hand in his dark hair. With a rough sound Mark puts a hand behind Jack's knee and pulls it up around his hip again, dragging Jack forward onto his lap.

But Mark doesn't kiss him. He holds him there and stares into his eyes, their faces so close they share breaths. "You are definitely trouble," Mark murmurs with a seductive smile. "Just what do you think you're doing, hmm? I have a job to do, you know."

Jack shifts against him, almost purring at the warm burst of pleasure when their hips drag together. "Are you sayin' you'd rather go poke people with syringes instead of fool around with me on your desk?" 

"There is nothing I'd rather do more than fooling around with you, period," Mark muses. "You're something of an incubus."

"Me?" Jack says with blatant surprise. He flushes when Mark brushes a light kiss across his lips, teasing them apart with his tongue.

"You," Mark whispers against his mouth, drawing back slightly. "With your underplayed attractions, and the way you seem to never notice how much attention you command just by being in a room." Jack must look completely lost, because Mark continues with a grin, "That tempting body of yours that makes me just... desperately want to push you down on the nearest gurney or desk or available flat surface every time I see you. Those compelling, amazingly blue eyes that remind me of clear winter skies. That troublesome mouth," he breathes, leaning in.

_He actually likes me_ , Jack thinks, amazed. Mark's lips press into his briefly, repeatedly, then more insistently as he pushes his tongue into Jack's mouth. His mind is wiped clean when Mark uses the hand at his knee to leverage Jack's body directly onto his lap, pressing their hips flush together. Mark's other hand closes firmly at his waist, moving Jack against him as he rolls his hips up.

"You work fast," Jack gasps out. Mark's mouth travels down to his jaw, and then his neck, eliciting a tiny moan when he bites at the crook of his neck and shoulder, then kisses his way back up to his pulse point. "I don't think I've ever gone to second base this quick in my life."

"You drive me to insanity," the brunet replies gruffly, "and you wore that shirt, and those pants--" He cuts himself off, kissing Jack passionately enough to render him breathless. "I want to strip you naked, right here, and--"

There's a short knock on the door, and both their heads snap around to look at it with alarm. Before they can move, a cheery male voice calls through the wood, "Mark, man. So glad you've finally caught Mr. McLoughlin's eye. He seems like a nice guy. But you're now officially four patients behind schedule, and Mrs. McLoughlin is looking like she's about to burst a gasket if someone doesn't tell her what's going on. I suggest you... er.... finish up, and make yourself useful."

Mark goes beet red, clears his throat and calls back, "Uh, yep. Sure thing, Arin. Be right out."

"Great," the man behind the door mock enthuses. "I'll be in my office having supper. Right next to yours. Where I can hear you. Extremely well."

"I got it, Arin," Mark says with a sigh. He waits until they hear footsteps, then mumbles, "God damn it. His timing always is horrible."

Jack smirks, tentatively leaning in to press a kiss to Mark's cheek. "Maybe it's a blessin' in disguise? If we carried on, we might have got you in some actual trouble."

"With that loud mouth of yours? Absolutely," Mark chuckles. He lets Jack go, setting him back on his feet and standing up. Pensively he gazes at Jack, one hand brushing along his jaw.

"What?" Jack asks worriedly, looking back.

Instead of answering Mark cups his face and kisses him tenderly. When Jack leans into him he draws back. "No more of that," he chides, smoothing Jack's hair back out of his eyes. "We have to think like mature adults now."

"Everythin' I think about you is "mature"," Jack says dryly. Mark's laugh seems almost too loud in the small space. "However, we've already been caught, so I see your point." He steps away and towards the door. He opens it, looking back over his shoulder at Mark. The doctor looks torn, supposedly between staying where he is and pursuing Jack. "When will you be by to see Gran?"

"A couple hours," Mark says, checking his watch. "After I have several cold showers," he adds cheekily.

Jack grins. "See you then." Reluctantly he goes out the door and closes it behind him. On the way to his grandmother Jack tries his best to come back down from the stars, but he still feels like he's flying as he walks back into his Gran's room.

She perks explosively once she sees him. "Sean!" she cries. "Tell me everything, this instant. Tell me!"

"Okay, okay," Jack laughs and takes his seat by the bed. "Well, he took me to his office, where he repeatedly kissed me until I was braindead, after tellin' me he's very much into me. That's about it."

"Oh, come now," she says dismissively, "you were gone nearly half an hour and you expect me to believe he just kissed you?"

Jack's face gets hot. "Gran!" he wails, hiding his face in his hands as she giggles delightedly at him. "Okay, alright, it was more of a heavy pettin' scenario. But the clothes stayed on!"

She grins devilishly. "Goodness, and whatever prevented you from going on?"

He scowls at her, but he doubts it's very effective with his face looking like a tomato. "His coworker knocked on the door and warned him to get back to work. He also congratulated him, in a weird way. And I would not have had sex with him in his office," he adds with his last sliver of dignity.

"Sure you wouldn't, dear," the old woman muses. "Well, perhaps not until nightfall, at least. Night shifts in a hospital can get quite dull on slow nights, I'm told."

"Oh, and who said that?" Jack asks with a chuckle.

"Your new boyfriend," she replies smugly.

Jack clears his throat, ignores her gleeful expression and gets out The Chronicles of Narnia from his bag. "Be quiet already, good Lord," he says with faux irritation. He waves the book at her. "Narnia is callin'."

"Go ahead, dear," she permits. As he flips to the proper page, she adds in a soft tone, "I'm so happy for you, my boy. So happy." 

He looks up and smiles at her. "Thanks, Gran. Me too."

Jack eats his wrap and then reads, letting his elation from Mark seep into his storytelling. He puts vivacity and energy into it--booming with authority when he voices Aslan, altering his pitch for each character, rolling easily with the flow of the sentences. Catherine is enthused as well, occasionally letting out a small noise of surprise or dismay, depending on the section of the story. He looks up at her frequently to make sure she doesn't fall asleep when he's not paying attention, but she seems bushy-tailed for the most part.

Sunset is approaching by the time he calls it quits, and his voice is sufficiently thrashed but there's a happy grin on his grandmother's face, so Jack supposes it's worth it. He helps her settle into her pillows more comfortably and reclines the bed down until it's almost horizontal. 

"I hope you realize, dear, that I'm not going to sleep until I see that man," his Gran says, chuckling. "He's got to be grilled by someone, at least."

"I think his coworkers have that under control," Jack grins. He tucks the book into his backpack and zips it up. "But I hardly think that'll stop you from havin' your fun."

"You're such a smart lad," she says with a wink, and he laughs.

They've been chatting for a while when Mark shows up, striding through the door and carding a hand through his hair to push his bangs out of his face. He smiles beautifully at Jack when he sees him and instantly goes to him. Jack gets to his feet just in time for Mark to grab him and kiss the daylights out of him without a single word of greeting. 

Jack bites back a moan as Mark holds him close, his mouth unerringly pushing all the right buttons, and he eases away enough to get out a little hoarsely, "Um, Mark--my Gran--"

Mark abruptly stills, glancing sideways to where Catherine lays in bed looking overjoyed at the pubic display of affection. "Er, Mrs. McLoughlin. Hi. Yeah, I'll be honest, I forgot you were here."

"No need to guess why," she replies, amused, with a look at Jack's flustered face. "It certainly took you long enough, but congratulations, regardless." Her smile is warm and kind when she adds, "My grandson has excellent taste."

Mark grins crookedly, one corner of his mouth quirked. "I thought it was me who had good taste, but I won't disagree with you." Letting Jack go with a small sigh, Mark steps away to check her medical chart. He eyes it and looks over his glasses at her. "No side effects?"

"Not a one," she tells him pleasantly. "You seem to have found the right medication."

"Wonderful," Mark says gladly. He writes on the clipboard and replaces it to its spot. Glancing over at Jack, he says a bit mournfully, "I can't find many more reasons to come see you often, then, if your grandmother's doing this well."

Jack shrugs a little, moving closer with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I might be persuaded to shadow a certain medical professional. For aesthetic purposes, for the patients of course. I tell a mean story."

"You're much more than just a good storyteller," Mark informs him, grinning. "Although, I'm very prejudiced in your favour. I wouldn't trust a word that comes out of my mouth." When Jack reaches him he pulls Jack right into his arms, so naturally, like he belongs there.

"Then put your mouth to better use," Jack says suggestively, and wiggles his eyebrows.

Mark laughs, and his forehead drops to rest on Jack's shoulder. "For the love of--your grandmother is right there!" he exclaims, still laughing.

"Don't mind me, lads," Catherine says cheerfully, ecstatic over their gentle ardour as only a matchmaking grandparent can be. "Continue flirting. You're both just adorable."

Jack slides a casual, caressing hand up Mark's side under his white coat. "Along with a friend of mine, she's the one who made me flaunt to really get your attention," he tells Mark, who lifts his head. "Otherwise I would've never evolved past discretely peekin' at you and sighin' longingly every time you left the room."

"Remind me to buy her flowers," Mark says thoughtfully. "Roses. Lots of roses. And chocolates. This kind of good behaviour should be rewarded." He rubs his nose against Jack's, smiling wide when Jack turns pink. "I already told you how attracted I am to you. Why are you blushing?"

Weakly Jack feels himself melt as Mark pulls him closer. "Because you're still you," Jack admits, gnawing on his lip. "And I'm still just me, and--"

"I don't think I ever want to hear the words "just" and "me" juxtaposed about you ever again," Mark says conversationally, interjecting. He leans and kisses Jack's forehead. "You've got no ego, not even a little. I'm planning on fixing that."

"Are you?" Jack inquires. He smiles warmly against Mark's lips when the brunet leans in again. "How so?"

"By smothering you with attention, clearly," Mark replies dryly. "And catering to your every whim. Buying you everything under the sun. Even meeting the rest of your family, probably. I'll work up to that one." He cradles Jack's face in his hands and kisses him, devouring his little gasp and deepening the kiss when Jack immediately opens his mouth.

"Dears," Jack's grandmother says politely, chuffed, "while I don't mind this one bit, I think Mark ought to be doing a little more with himself right now."

They break apart, and Jack gives Mark a look that tells him exactly what he wants Mark to be doing with himself. "Ah, hell. Your grandmother's right," Mark pouts, and steals another quick kiss before letting go of him. He steps away, sighing heavily as he leaves the room with a glance over his shoulder. Jack watches his back retreat with warring emotions--he's giddy from his touches, but already his heart hurts to see him go.

"He's not going anywhere," Gran tells him, chuckling. He looks back at her and she smiles wide. "And if what I just saw is any indication, he'll be back in under an hour to try and pin you down again."

"Gran!" Jack exclaims, flushing. "Quit that, c'mon. He just... It's..."

Catherine giggles and settles back comfortably into her pillows. "That young man is going to be very tough to keep off of you, dear. At least for the first little while." Her eyes fall shut, and she adds with a smirk, "I bet he's already thinking of places where he could hide you away for... _ahem_ , privacy."

Grumbling, Jack swats her foot where it sits under the covers. "You, never mind. You've done enough interferin'." He tucks her blankets up higher and grabs his jacket and bag. "I'll head out and let you sleep. I shouldn't be later than two tomorrow."

"Alright. Goodnight, Sean." 

"'Night, Gran," Jack says softly, shutting the light off and closing the door quietly behind him. Instinctually he looks around for Mark in the hall, but he's nowhere to be found. _Should I go by his office and see if he's there? Or should I just leave? I guess I don't have to say goodbye to him_ , Jack thinks petulantly, _but I want to_.

As he stands there mulling it over he chews his lip. Finally he just shakes his head and walks to the elevator. _It's not like I won't see him tomorrow. It's only one day. I'm being ridiculous._

He leaves the hospital and walks out into the dim night with Mark on his mind, and Jack thinks that somewhere inside Mark just might be thinking about him too.

 

Felix comes with him to the hospital after their last lecture, with a quick stop at home so Jack can change into nicer clothes again, put on cologne and accessorize. They take Felix's car rather than walk, since the hospital is farther from their apartment than it is from campus.

Catherine brightens when the two young men walk in. "Hello, boys," she greets warmly. "Thank you for coming by again, Felix, dear. It's so wonderful to see you."

"Anything for you, doll," he says charmingly, and kisses her forehead. "Jack says you're getting a lot better." He and Jack take seats at her bedside.

"I am, indeed," she replies. "This morning Mark said I could probably start physical therapy tomorrow." She turns to Jack, her eyes twinkling. "Mark is walking around like a little rain cloud today. He said you left without saying goodbye last night."

Jack shrugs, but his cheeks go pink. "I couldn't find him, and I knew he was probably busy."

"So things are going good with him?" Felix asks.

"I think?" Jack hedges, a little uncertain. "He's all over me, for sure."

The blond leans back in his chair. "We could ramp it up a bit," Felix says slyly. "Get him really going."

"And how would we do that?" Jack replies dubiously. "We're already together. At least I think we are." He frowns. "I'm not sure, actually. He wants to take me on a date."

Felix scoots his chair right beside Jack's and slings a blatantly possessive arm across his shoulders, bringing him close. "Jealousy is a big green monster that, in my experience, serves as fantastic fuel for new relationships."

Jack's eyebrows raise. His mouth quirks with humour. "So what's your plan? Crawl all over me and incite him to madness so he throws me over his shoulder and humps me on the nearest bed?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Felix grins and tugs Jack to sit more comfortably next to him. "C'mon, you won't regret it. This almost always works."

"You're a terrible liar, Fe," Jack mutters, but he lets Felix manhandle him until he's positioned appropriately--to Felix's satisfaction, anyway--under his arm. "Why do I get the feelin' that you're about to be a catalyst for some shit-disturbin'?"

Feigning innocence Felix says, "Would I do that to you, buddy?" Jack's dry look makes him grin wide. "Well, I think you and Mark will thank me." He jostles Jack by the grip on his shoulder. "At the very least he'll back you up into something and take your breath away."

"He does that regardless," Jack mumbles. "And too easily."

"Have some faith," Gran suggests kindly. "You might be surprised."

It's not long before Mark shows up, the opening door signifying his entry. Jack turns in his seat and his eyes find Mark's. As Mark looks back, his gaze drifts to Felix's casual arm on him and his face changes in moments, a jealous scowl replacing his easy smile.

Seeing the abrupt difference in him, Jack quickly shrugs off Felix's arm and stands, but doesn't approach Mark. "Hi," he says, but it sounds too meek, and Jack isn't even sure that Mark heard him. He clears his throat and says a little louder, "Mark, this is, uh, my friend, Felix. We go to school together."

"Nice to meet you," Mark says, seemingly out of habit since his expression isn't exactly advertising pleasure. Felix stands and shakes his hand; the contact is prolonged, and when Felix sits back down he sees him flexing his hand carefully. Jack sees a smug look on Mark's face, and a pained one on Felix, and can't help but smile. 

_Mark is definitely staking his claim_ , Jack thinks to himself, as evidenced by Mark apparently mangling Felix's hand in his grip. Maybe Felix and Gran were right? Competition, or the illusion of competition, could push Mark into being a little more aggressive in dating Jack. Jack's reminded briefly of when Mark seemed to be upset when Alicia was hitting on Jack, but maybe that wasn't him being upset that his nurses were distracted. Maybe it was Mark actually being jealous that Jack was being hit on at all?

The possibility that Mark has liked him this whole time is alien to him, but it makes sense in hindsight. If Jack was any less obtuse, he would've seen it for what it was. Mark is into him.

"Mrs. McLoughlin, you look well," Mark says, but his eyes are still on Jack.

"I feel just fine," she replies, amused. Her eyes dance between her grandson and her doctor, no doubt eating up every detail of their expressions. Jack's tempted to glare at her, but that would require him to look away from Mark, and--well, that's not happening.

Felix steps to stand beside Jack and runs a casual hand through the shorter man's hair, making him jump in surprise. "So, Doctor, where you from?" His grin is nearly offensive due to its blatant glee at Mark's irritated scowl. "Did you go to school here?"

Mark's upper lip curls and he turns his face away without replying, walking to the end of Catherine's bed. He gives the clipboard a glare and replaces it after making a jerky, furious scribble on it. At that Jack moves forward, hands outstretched, but Mark just walks past him and exits the room, snapping the door shut behind him when Jack goes to follow.

With a scathing look over his shoulder at Felix, Jack hurries after Mark into the hall and catches a glimpse of him turning a corner, towards his office. He rushes to catch him, but the office door is firmly shut when he reaches it. He lifts his hand to knock, gulping.

When it swings open to reveal a grouchy-looking Mark, Jack just lets the words fall out. "My friend Felix is a jackass," he says in a rush. "I'm sorry, he thought he was helpin' me, by tryin' to make you jealous, I guess. I didn't think it was a good idea but he insisted. I've known him for years so I trust him a lot, but I don't like him like that. He's actually engaged, to another friend of mine, Marzia." Jack sighs explosively. "I'm honestly sorry, I didn't think--"

Mark holds up a hand and Jack stops his word vomit, shutting his mouth. "So this Felix, he's just a friend? Nothing going on whatsoever?"

"Absolutely nothin'," Jack assures him. "He's like a brother to me." He chews his lip, ignoring his craving to reach out and snag Mark's shirt in his unsteady fingers. "A really awful brother, at the moment."

"Why were you trying to make me jealous?" Mark asks, sighing. "It's not like I need more excuses to come after you, like when I should be working, and focused on something else entirely."

"I think his idea was that you'd corner me somewhere and make me confess my feelin's, and then you'd take advantage of the situation," Jack mumbles. "Like I said, his idea." 

"Confess your feelings?" Mark repeats slowly, and Jack freezes. 

_Oh. Oh, fuck, I said too much_. His mouth flaps uselessly, no sound coming out as he stares at Mark, who looks back at him expectantly. Without thinking Jack turns and runs, leaving him standing in the doorway. _I have to hide_ , is all he thinks. He hauls ass around the corner and passes his grandmother's room. No sense going there, Mark would find him. He reaches another corner and just before he turns, he sees a supply closet door slightly ajar. He sprints for it and shuts himself inside.

Exhaling, Jack leans back against the door in the pitch dark, his face hot from more than just exertion. He practically just told Mark everything, or at least hinted to it. _And my solution was to run and hide like a child_ , Jack scoffs. _What a great response. But eventually I have to face him, and he'll have the same questions. What do I say? Do I just... tell him the truth? Or should I hide it, since this is still so new?_

_I shouldn't feel like this_ , Jack thinks dismally. _And if I kept my mouth shut, he wouldn't have known until it was a good time to tell him. What will he do when I say I love him after barely a week?_

There's a sharp knock on the door and Jack startles, jolting against a shelving unit beside him and making a considerable amount of noise. The knock comes again, twice. Jack holds his breath, eyes wide, and after a moment Mark's voice says on the other side, "Are you going to open the door or do I have to go get the janitor?"

Shakily Jack steps forward, using his phone's screen to see in the dusk of the closet, and opens the door enough that a sliver of light spills through. The door swings open wide and Mark steps inside, shutting it again behind him. Darkness envelopes them, but then Mark flicks on the switch beside the door and light bursts into the small room by a bare bulb in the ceiling to illuminate Jack's face, hesitant and a little terrified.

"Feelings are tricky," Mark murmurs, when Jack doesn't speak. "I know mine for you are unorthodox, considering how long I've known you. But you," he says softly. "You love me, don't you, Jack?"

_How am I supposed to answer that?_ Jack wonders. "Um," is what he goes with, nervously chewing his lip. His eyes fall to Mark's shoes--sensible sneakers for a busy doctor. They step closer to him, boxing Jack into the corner he's retreated to, and fretfully Jack admits, "I like you a lot. Probably more than I should."

"Do you see me complaining?" Mark says, his voice kind. "I like you a lot, too. This isn't something to get worked up about."

"It's way too soon," Jack mumbles in protest. He melts helplessly into Mark's hands when the brunet reaches for him, pulls him close. "I never act like this, I never..."

Mark's hands smooth down his back, teasingly bringing their bodies together. He nuzzles along Jack's cheek and plants a gentle kiss below his ear. "There's no time limit on this kind of thing," he says quietly with his lips at Jack's ear. "I don't mind if your feelings took the express lane. It just means I have some catching up to do. I can do that, though."

Jack chuckles a little, but the sound quickly turns into a hum of pleasure when Mark purposefully slides a hand underneath Jack's shirt. His broad hand lights a path of warm, electrifying tingles across Jack's back. Everywhere his fingers touch is like a spark igniting, and each time Mark moves Jack feels a little more breathless. Tenderly, as if afraid to hurt him, Mark nips at the sensitive skin of his neck and Jack bites his lip to hold in a soft moan.

"Are you keeping those gorgeous noises from me?" Mark demands mischievously as he pulls back, seeing Jack's face. "Trying to be quiet, in case someone hears you moan for me?" Fingers dip under the waist of Jack's jeans and caress along his hips, around to the fastening in front. "Can you be quiet, Jack, while I touch you?" he purrs, popping the button from its hole.

"God, probably not," Jack says honestly, weakly, before Mark kisses him. He clings to Mark's neck and leans into him, making him stagger back slightly into a shelving unit. Mark doesn't even lift his head, just takes Jack with him and rests his back against the shelves while his hands unzip Jack's jeans and shove them down his hips.

"Should we be doin' this?" Jack asks in between kisses. Mark moves down to his neck, lips idly brushing as he goes, and merely hums in reply. "I mean, we're in a supply closet in a hospital, for Christ's sake. Oh," he gasps, because Mark's palm is pressing against him through his underwear, with his jeans now out of the way. His hand rubs, achingly slow but firm, and Jack shudders. "Good Lord, Mark, if you're tryin' to get me to be quiet, you're on the wrong path."

Mark pushes away from the shelves with a chuckle and turns them, spinning Jack around to face the shelves with Mark at his back. Jack's hands brace against a shelf and he looks back over his shoulder at Mark, who smiles handsomely. His hands slip around Jack's hips, grabbing the hem of his shirt and lifting it up. Jack lets Mark remove his shirt, and then his bronze hands are everywhere. One reaches down his front to disappear beneath Jack's underwear and the other pinches at a nipple, causing Jack to groan throatily.

"Now, that's not very quiet," Mark whispers, his lips painting designs on Jack's shoulder. "And I've barely touched you, Jack. Or should I call you Sean?"

The whine slips out of Jack's mouth without his consent. _Oh, God_ , he thinks desperately. "N-no, don't call me--" he protests feebly, but he can't finish. At that moment Mark closes his hand around his cock and Jack's breath gusts out in a whoosh. He turns his face into his arm to hide the raging blush covering it, and to try to contain the pitiful sounds he can't control.

Strong fingers stroke down his shaft, transforming his leg muscles to goop. "I think that turns you on, when I call you Sean," Mark murmurs thoughtfully, and smiles at the tiny sound Jack makes. "I think you like it a lot, but you don't want me to know." His hand at Jack's nipple tweaks hard and Jack cries out, quickly slapping a hand over his mouth. "Should I tell you everything I'm going to do to you?"

"Mark, God," Jack whimpers through his shaking fingers. "I am seriously losin' the ability to be quiet, here--" He chomps down on his thumb to stifle the noise on his tongue when Mark squeezes him tightly. It still trickles out, though, as a delicate moan.

"I'm going to touch you like this, Sean, nice and slow," Mark says quietly, kissing the nape of his neck, dragging his teeth there. "I'm going to work you up until you're begging me for it, and I'm not going to give it to you." His hand wanders down from Jack's chest to his pants and underwear, which he shoves down his legs until they pool around his ankles. "I'm going to open you up even slower, and then when you're screaming for me, I'll give you what you want."

Jack whimpers again, fighting the shiver that runs through his body with vigour and losing whatever diffidence he had left. He looks over his shoulder and Mark is right there, staring back. "Kiss me," Jack begs, half-turning to grab at Mark's arm. Mark spins him and divests him of his shoes, pants and underwear, then backs him up into the wall and keeps him there with a thigh between Jack's. "Ple--" 

Mark's mouth stops the words, holding Jack with a hot palm at his ribs and quickly stripping off his white coat followed by his polo shirt. When he leans back in, rolls his hips forward and presses him into the wall, Jack tilts his chin up and groans.

"You need to at least try and be quiet," Mark says, chuckling into Jack's throat while his hands work on his own belt. He gets distracted by Jack's cock, though, giving it a few tight strokes before resuming undressing. Jack bites his lip to hold in his sound, thrusting into Mark's hip, whining when he pulls away to kick his shoes off, followed by his pants and boxer briefs.

"I want to see you have someone get you naked in record time while still touchin' you and keep _your_ shit together," Jack says breathlessly. "And have them look like you do."

"I'll let you have your way with me next time," Mark promises, grinning, and shoves Jack back into the wall with his body. "The effect will be the same, I guarantee it."

Jack smiles. "Is that your roundabout way of saying you think I'm hot?"

"If you hadn't guessed that by now, I don't know what to tell you," Mark says dryly. "What with me trying to put my dick in you and everything."

"Ooh, talk dirty to me, Doctor," Jack sighs theatrically. His sigh hitches into a gasp when Mark grabs him behind his thighs and wraps his legs up around his waist. 

"I can do that," Mark growls into his ear, grinding their hips together in a fast, even rhythm. "God, I'm so fucking hard just thinking about the ways I'm going to debauch you." Jack feels the evidence of that rutting against his belly, throbbing in time with Mark's rapid heartbeat. "I've been dying every day imagining bending you over somewhere and fucking you until you come just from my cock. I hate the idea of someone else hitting on you, touching you, and I'm going to wipe everyone else from your mind until the only name you know, the only name you'll ever scream is mine."

"Fuck, do it, yes," Jack cries softly, canting his hips up with Mark's movements. He gets a hand around Mark's neck and drags him back into a kiss that's too sloppy, with too much biting, but Mark growls into his mouth and cups a hand at his jaw to hold him still. After that it's more bite than kiss but as Mark's mouth moves down his neck, Jack can't care in the slightest.

Mark lets him go and spins him again, pushing him into the wall and lifting one of his knees with his front plastered to the wall. It exposes between his legs extremely well, and Jack flushes scarlet when he looks over his shoulder. 

"Stay," Mark says quietly. He meets Jack's eyes and Jack swallows at the intensity he sees there. He nods, pulling his lip between his teeth, and Mark's hand on his thigh tightens before letting him go. Jack stays where he is, even though his dick is pressed pretty uncomfortably against the wall, and Mark quickly bends to dig in his physician coat's pockets and stands again, this time with a tube and condom in his hand.

"Throwback to your Boyscout days?" Jack muses.

"More like optimism bordering on arrogance," Mark smirks, and Jack laughs. "With a touch of exhibitionism for flavour."

The words remind Jack of where they are, what exactly they're about to do. But he looks behind him at Mark spreading lube between his fingers, rubbing them together--warming it up, Jack realizes, seized by an odd sense of fondness--and his hesitation flies out the window.

Mark's dry hand comes back to his thigh, holding his leg up and keeping Jack against the wall. Jack faces the wall again and presses his forehead to it with a heavy breath, then Mark's finger is sliding over his hole and his lungs are robbed of air completely. 

The noise that Mark wrenches out of him as he slips his finger inside is loud, way too loud. "Sean," Mark chastises him, and Jack lets out a second noise, quieter but no less aroused. "You're so sensitive. At this rate you'll be coming before I'm even inside you."

Jack laughs breathlessly. "Then I suggest you hurry."

Mark hums his agreement into Jack's shoulder, then contradictorily teases his middle finger around his rim, circling the finger already in him. Jack shivers and pushes back, fingers clawing into the wall uselessly, and thinks stupidly, _He's going to kill me. This is how I die--by aggressive foreplay in a hospital janitor closet with my bedridden grandmother's doctor._

Maybe sensing Jack's level of wantonness, Mark makes quick work of stretching him after that--though, that's not to say that he doesn't make sure Jack enjoys it. In fact, by the time he hears Mark ripping into the condom wrapper Jack feels a little bit like a wound-up, soaking wet rag, just waiting to be wrung out by a skilled pair of hands. And despite all of Mark's promises earlier, Jack doesn't have to beg once to get him to continue. Not that that stops him from doing it a few times anyway.

"Can you do something for me, Sean?" Mark asks softly, pressing his chest all along his back.

"That depends on how many brain cells I need to do it," Jack says slowly, carefully, so he doesn't stumble over the simple words. His hands shake where they lay, palms flattened to the wall.

"After I'm inside you," Mark murmurs at his ear, "I'm going to lift you off the floor and hold you to the wall. I won't have a free hand to cover your mouth, so you need to be very quiet. Can you do that, Sean?"

"You're goin' to hold me up and fuck me?" Jack asks weakly, peeking over his shoulder.

"Yes," Mark replies, then grins broadly. "So, will you be quiet?"

Jack nods, biting his lip and facing the wall again. "Yeah, okay." He's almost certain he wont be able to follow through with that, but he'll probably chew his lip until it bleeds trying to.

Mark's hand on his thigh slides down to cup behind his knee, shifting Jack's leg a little higher. He lets out a slow breath when he feels Mark press against his ass with something much wider than his fingers, angling his hips out towards Mark and holding his breath at the first bit of stretch. Mark did a good job, though, and Jack thinks he goes a little cross-eyed as Mark thrusts inside in one smooth motion, sliding home like a key in a lock.

"Guh," Jack gets out, a choked and gasping moan that makes it sound more like he was just stabbed. Mark slides his free hand down Jack's other leg, brushing along the sensitive underside before gripping firmly and lifting his foot off the ground. He's fully at Mark's mercy, stuffed full and incoherent from the sensation alone, and Jack smothers a mewl when Mark holds him up like nothing, sliding his hands up to the middle of Jack's thighs and kissing at the nape of his neck. He breathes in when Mark withdraws, only for his breath to be punched out of him as Mark thrusts back in sharply, setting a quick, snapping pace that startles a hard gasp out of him.

"Mark, _oh god_ , I can't--" Jack says at once, groaning the words. The angle is heaven--Mark must be right on his prostate, because _nothing_ has ever felt so good--but it's too much, too fast, too everything and Jack will not be able to keep quiet with this kind of sexual cataclysm going on.

"You promised," Mark growls behind him, and continues at his current pace. He may actually speed up a little.

Jack feels his heartbeat through his body, thrumming with heat and tension, and his fingers tremble where he has them digging futilely against the solidity of the wall. "Mark," he whimpers. He feels the impact of Mark's body like thunderbolts, shaking heavily up his torso and through his legs. He knows that Mark has to be aware of how close to coming undone he is, even if he can't see the state of abuse Jack's bottom lip is in.

"Can't you see how insane you make me?" Mark asks him, voice low and demanding, smooth as honey. "You're so--Fuck, can you feel me all the way to your scalp? Can you taste me in your throat? God, Sean, you feel _incredible_."

Mark loses whatever remaining coherency he has and shoves his face in the side of Jack's neck, biting the skin there and breathing hard. Hands tight on Jack's thighs, Mark starts pistoning his hips up into Jack hard enough to completely cut off his whining moans.

"Well, that's one way to shut you up," Mark pants with a half-laugh, below his ear. 

Jack would laugh, he really would, except if he opens his mouth he knows that's not the sound that will come out. Instead he keeps his bottom lip firmly between his teeth, breathing hard through his nose and containing himself to muffled groans in the back of his throat. He has a feeling that all his effort won't mean a damn thing when he comes, when Mark drives him over that precipice that's already so close.

"Touch yourself," Mark moans, briefly slowing to grind up into him, deeply rolling his hips. "Come on, I've got you, I won't drop you. Touch yourself. I want you to come first."

Jack's sob of pleasure gets lost in his chest somewhere and he drops a hand from the wall to snake down his stomach and grip his dick in shaky fingers. He's barely stroked himself four times before he's biting back a scream, instead groaning piteously into his elbow as his body floods with a heatwave of pleasure that crashes through him all the way to the ends of his hair and echoes down his spine. He comes in spurts up the wall and onto the floor, gasping for air and letting out a sobbing moan as Mark keeps slowly fucking him through it.

"Let me know if you need me to pull out," Mark murmurs, pressing a chaste but openmouthed kiss to Jack's jaw. Then he hoists Jack up a little bit and resumes his previous speed, thrusting with harsh fluidity.

Stuffing his fist into his mouth stops most of the sounds Jack makes as Mark groans his way through his orgasm seconds later. His fingers tremble where they cling to Jack's thighs and he heaves out his breaths into Jack's hair, steadily relaxing from his high. Jack's toes are still curled when he comes down from the clouds himself. Slowly he reaches and grabs Mark's wrist, rubbing his thumb along the back of Mark's hand.

"You can let go now, Mark," Jack mumbles, leaning back into him with a contented sigh. 

One by one Mark's fingers unclench and he lets Jack put his feet back on the floor, but he doesn't let him go far. His arms come around Jack's middle, palms resting on his stomach. 

They stay like that for a long time, long enough that Jack feels fused to Mark where he presses all along his back. His shoulder feels like it was made to be the resting place for Mark's chin. His hips were designed for Mark's hands to skim along them. Warmth from Mark's body trickles through him slowly, like direct sunlight, and he trails his fingers along Mark's forearms.

"I could really get used to this," Mark finally says. Through the warm haze he's surrounded in, Jack vaguely feels the grin against his shoulder when Mark puts a kiss there.

Jack bites his lip but the laugh gets out anyway. "I know exactly what you mean."

 

Jack glances up from the menu for the fifty-thousandth time and spots Mark almost sprinting towards him from the front of the restaurant. Jack's eyebrows lift as Mark practically crashes down into the chair across him and grabs one of his hands. "Jesus, hi, Mark. Where's the fire?"

"I'm sorry I'm late," the doctor bursts out at once. "I didn't--Marsha was late and they forced me to stay becaus--"

Jack cuts him off with a finger over his lips before he can start rambling. "Relax. This isn't the first time you've kept me waitin'."

"But it's our first date," Mark rebuttals sadly. "It's important."

"Mark, I spent the past two nights at your house," Jack reminds him dryly. "We fucked in the shower, and on the coffee table, and on the kitchen counter. You made me chicken cacciatore and then sucked my dick until I saw God. We have stepped well beyond the first date line."

Mark snorts a little. "You make a pretty good point."

"I usually do," Jack says easily, then slides his menu across the table to him. He's known what he wants for the past thirty minutes. "Pick somethin' so we can eat and then go back to your apartment."

"What I want to eat isn't going to be on any menu," Mark says slowly, with a distinct look down Jack's body as he reaches for Jack's ice water.

"But it _is_ in your future," Jack replies. He grins at Mark's dumbly pleased expression. "Go on, pick. The sooner we eat, the sooner I get to fuck your face and then ride your dick like a cowboy."

Mark spits out his mouthful of water onto the table with a shocked, braying laugh that's too obnoxiously loud for the dim, romantic ambiance of the restaurant. Jack will absolutely chastise him for it--just as soon as he stops laughing, too.

Once they've ordered Mark asks, "Can I borrow your phone to check my email? Mine died this afternoon."

Jack pulls his phone from his pocket and unlocks it with his passcode, then hands it over across the table. "Somebody who's prepared enough for spontaneous sex doesn't carry a phone charger with him?"

Mark grins as he takes the phone. "Well, I never actually was a Boyscout." He taps away on the screen, and Jack snags his water back while Mark's distracted. A short moment later there's a squawk from Mark and Jack looks at him with alarm. Mark's face is flushed as he looks down at Jack's phone.

"'Doctor Delishbach'?" Mark reads aloud, and looks up at Jack with an odd expression.

Jack can almost hear the blood rushing into his face. "Oh my god," Jack shrieks, and lunges for the phone across the table. Mark stretches his arm behind him, well out of Jack's reach. He claws the air and desperately tries to tug Mark's arm back into striking distance. "No, oh my god, give me that right now and pretend _none of this_ happened, Mark, before I die of mortification alone."

"Did you honestly nickname me Doctor Delishbach in your phone?" Mark says, and now he sounds _delighted_. 

"No, I have an evil twin who tampers with my electronics, please give it back," Jack whines. He pounces for the phone again and almost upends the whole table when it wobbles dangerously beneath him. Mark holds him back with a hand on his shoulder. "Mark, please--"

"I feel like a kid on Christmas, this is amazing," Mark says gleefully. "Doctor Delishbach. It's got a nice ring to it."

"I will have sex with you unconditionally for the rest of your life if you stop talkin' _right fuckin' now_ ," Jack begs in a strangled voice, scrambling his hand up Mark's arm.

Suddenly Mark's hand is cupping his face, pulling him into a quick and brutal kiss. "Why are you so fucking perfect?" Mark laughs when he pulls away. "You fucking named me--" He laughs again, still too loud but this one is warm and open, sprinkled with some real happiness. 

Jack leans forward to kiss that laugh off Mark's lips, and to shut him up. It doesn't really work because he has to get off the table at some point, preferably before he gets them kicked out, and when he backs up and sits back in his seat Mark starts laughing again, eyes glued to the evidence on the phone in his hand.

"I want to legally change my name," Mark declares, grinning like a madman. 

"You will do absolutely no such thing," Jack snipes. "Give me my phone back. I revoke permission to use it, because you are terrible."

Mark rolls his eyes and hands it to him. He grins--it's giddy and bright, and Jack's powerless against that kind of coercion so he can't help but grin back, even through the embarrassment. Mark reaches across the table and nudges his hand into Jack's, linking their fingers together. Jack lifts their hands to his mouth and kisses Mark's knuckles, whispering three words into their laced fingers. He looks up and sees the words blinking back at him in Mark's eyes.

"Fine, then," Mark says, like he's conceding to some unreasonable demand. "But I at least want it put on my gravestone."

**Author's Note:**

> i have no idea how medical practices work. do people still use clipboards? just lie to me and say yes.


End file.
